Progressive retinal atrophy or PRA as it is called can affect any dog. There are of course breeds that the disease is more common in. You will find Gordon setters, Tibetan terriers, cocker spaniels, poodles, and Labradors are more commonly affected than any other dog breeds. This means that when you adopt one of these breeds you have to be aware of the situation and be willing to take the proper care of your dog even if the issue presents itself. Many times individuals are not willing to deal with a dog that has an illness because of the expense. Just keep in mind that the expense doesn't always have to be an issue there are things like dog health insurance that could help you. This may help you determine the choice as well as finding out more about the disease.
Progressive retinal atrophy is a degenerative eye disease. In other words the disorder is characterized by blinding. The dog is generally going to inherit the problem, all though there are some injuries that could spark the progressive retinal atrophy. Since the progressive retinal atrophy is an eye disease it is important to understand how the eye works. For the most part you will find the disease is hereditary and that the retina is where the infection or disease will begin. The retina is located at the back of the eye. It is kept in place by muscle tissue. The retina is the part of the eye that allows the light to pass through and be read by the nerve in the eye and then the pictures are transmitted. With progressive retinal atrophy the retina in the eye will deteriorate in two ways. The first way is that the actual tissue begins to disintegrate. The other method of the progressive retinal atrophy is that the actual tissue leaves the back of the eye ball. While the tissue may still be mostly attached the actual retina will disengage causing blindness.
For progressive retinal atrophy you will find that the eye will usually slowly have problems. You will start to see symptoms as the dog becomes clumsy or begins to bump into things. They may also miss the mark on catching a toy. It is difficult to notice unless you have your dog's eyes checked on a yearly basis. There is only one method of prevention for this disease. If you know the dog has the disease you should not breed it with others. This is really the only prevention of having the hereditary element continue.
For treatment you will find there is only one real way to fix the problem. The treatment is going to be surgery. The doctor or vet can reapply the retina if it has detached itself. If it has disintegrated there really is no way to reattach the retina for sight and they will have to continue to go blind. The surgery can be quite expensive so most just allow their dogs to go blind and help them through the rest of their life as much as possible. Keep in mind that not every disease has a cure or a successful treatment. There is of course research on fixing the eye with other surgical procedures, but that is going to be more expensive and further down the line. It would most likely involve creating a new retinal attachment. For now there are a few medications that can slow down the swelling in the eye that happens, but not the disintegration.